Bellator 86's Ben Saunders ready for one more 'mind game' of a tournament

The tricky thing about learning in MMA is that it can come at an expense of life and limb.

Ben Saunders hopes he can take what he’s learned into his third tournament in Bellator. Because he can’t account for luck, it’s the best he can hope for when he could be fighting three times in three months.

“I’m trying to make it a show like always,” he recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “But I could go out there, knock the dude out in the first minute, but break my foot on his face doing so. That’s where the luck could play a factor, no matter what the skill. Above everything, it’s mentally grueling, and it’s a mind game.”

Saunders (14-5-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Koffi Adzisto (18-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC) at Bellator 86, which takes place at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. The event’s main card, including the opening-round welterweight tourney bout, airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Looking back on his previous two tournament appearances, which came in Seasons 5 and 6, Saunders knows what went wrong, and what served as lessons in his career to date.

Against Douglas Lima, who knocked him out in the second round of their meeting at Bellator 57, he let his emotions get the best of him.

“I thought I won the first round; the second round, I think I lost focus,” he said. “I think I got a little frustrated because I wasn’t being as dominant as I wanted to be, and I tried to go for the one-shot knockout, and he did the same, and he connected. That was a stupid maneuver on my part, which I admit was lack of focus for a split second, and that’s all it takes.”

Against Bryan Baker, who outpointed him at Bellator 67, he won’t say what exactly was ailing him. But he admits he came into the cage at less than 100 percent, and while that isn’t entirely a correctable mistake if you’re training in MMA, he takes responsibility for his performance.

“My energy levels weren’t where they needed to be,” Saunders said. “I’m not going to make any excuses on why. All I will say is that I gave a lot into that first round, and then going into the second and third, I didn’t have anywhere near as much as I have in every other fight.

“He wasn’t doing anything crazy or special to really (take me to) a fatiguing level, but you live and you learn. Hopefully, I can go through this tournament with the knowledge and experience to not make both of those mistakes.”

Saunders, a UFC vet, will be a heavy favorite going into Thursday’s bout, as Adzisto is a newcomer and hasn’t faced as much top-tier talent.

But Saunders can’t trade on his reputation. He has to show up for every fight, and if his third time in a tournament is a charm, it’s because he’s righted his wrongs.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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